Read the Gospels in 40 Days
Jesus Enters Jerusalem as a King
21 Jesus and his followers were coming closer to Jerusalem. But first they stopped at Bethphage at the hill called the Mount of Olives. From there Jesus sent two of his followers into the town. 2 He said to them, “Go to the town you can see there. When you enter it, you will find a donkey tied there with its colt. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone asks you why you are taking the donkeys, tell him, ‘The Master needs them. He will send them back soon.’” 4 This was to make clear the full meaning of what the prophet said:
5 “Tell the people of Jerusalem,
‘Your king is coming to you.
He is gentle and riding on a donkey.
He is on the colt of a donkey.’” Isaiah 62:11; Zechariah 9:9
6 The followers went and did what Jesus told them to do. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt to Jesus. They laid their coats on the donkeys, and Jesus sat on them. 8 Many people spread their coats on the road before Jesus. Others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 Some of the people were walking ahead of Jesus. Others were walking behind him. All the people were shouting,
“Praise[a] to the Son of David!
God bless the One who comes in the name of the Lord! Psalm 118:26
Praise to God in heaven!”
10 Then Jesus went into Jerusalem. The city was filled with excitement. The people asked, “Who is this man?”
11 The crowd answered, “This man is Jesus. He is the prophet from the town of Nazareth in Galilee.”
Jesus Goes to the Temple
12 Jesus went into the Temple. He threw out all the people who were buying and selling there. He turned over the tables that belonged to the men who were exchanging different kinds of money. And he upset the benches of those who were selling doves. 13 Jesus said to all the people there, “It is written in the Scriptures, ‘My Temple will be a house where people will pray.’[b] But you are changing God’s house into a ‘hideout for robbers.’”[c]
14 The blind and crippled people came to Jesus in the Temple, and Jesus healed them. 15 The leading priests and the teachers of the law saw that Jesus was doing wonderful things. They saw the children praising him in the Temple. The children were saying, “Praise[d] to the Son of David.” All these things made the priests and the teachers of the law very angry.
16 They asked Jesus, “Do you hear the things these children are saying?”
Jesus answered, “Yes. Haven’t you read in the Scriptures, ‘You have taught children and babies to sing praises’?”[e]
17 Then Jesus left and went out of the city to Bethany, where he spent the night.
The Power of Faith
18 Early the next morning, Jesus was going back to the city. He was very hungry. 19 He saw a fig tree beside the road. Jesus went to it, but there were no figs on the tree. There were only leaves. So Jesus said to the tree, “You will never again have fruit!” The tree immediately dried up.
20 His followers saw this and were amazed. They asked, “How did the fig tree dry up so quickly?”
21 Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth. If you have faith and do not doubt, you will be able to do what I did to this tree. And you will be able to do more. You will be able to say to this mountain, ‘Go, mountain, fall into the sea.’ And if you have faith, it will happen. 22 If you believe, you will get anything you ask for in prayer.”
Leaders Doubt Jesus’ Authority
23 Jesus went to the Temple. While he was teaching there, the leading priests and the elders of the people came to Jesus. They said to him, “Tell us! What authority do you have to do these things? Who gave you this authority?”
24 Jesus answered, “I will ask you a question, too. If you answer me, then I will tell you what authority I have to do these things. 25 Tell me: When John baptized people, did that come from God or from man?”
The priests and the leaders argued about Jesus’ question. They said to each other, “If we answer, ‘John’s baptism was from God,’ then Jesus will say, ‘Then why didn’t you believe John?’ 26 But if we say, ‘It was from man,’ we are afraid of what the people will do because they all believe that John was a prophet.”
27 So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”
Then Jesus said, “Then I won’t tell you what authority I have to do these things!
A Story About Two Sons
28 “Tell me what you think about this: There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first son and said, ‘Son, go and work today in my vineyard.’ 29 The son answered, ‘I will not go.’ But later the son decided he should go, and he went. 30 Then the father went to the other son and said, ‘Son, go and work today in my vineyard.’ The son answered, ‘Yes, sir, I will go and work.’ But he did not go. 31 Which of the two sons obeyed his father?”
The priests and leaders answered, “The first son.”
Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth. The tax collectors and the prostitutes will enter the kingdom of God before you do. 32 John came to show you the right way to live. And you did not believe him. But the tax collectors and prostitutes believed John. You saw this, but you still refused to change and believe him.
God Sends His Son
33 “Listen to this story: There was a man who owned a vineyard. He put a wall around the vineyard and dug a hole for a winepress. Then he built a tower. He leased the land to some farmers and left for a trip. 34 Later, it was time for the grapes to be picked. So the man sent his servants to the farmers to get his share of the grapes. 35 But the farmers grabbed the servants, beat one, killed another, and then killed a third servant with stones. 36 So the man sent some other servants to the farmers. He sent more servants than he sent the first time. But the farmers did the same thing to the servants that they had done before. 37 So the man decided to send his son to the farmers. He said, ‘The farmers will respect my son.’ 38 But when the farmers saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the owner’s son. This vineyard will be his. If we kill him, then his vineyard will be ours!’ 39 So the farmers grabbed the son, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. 40 So what will the owner of the vineyard do to these farmers when he comes?”
41 The priests and leaders said, “He will surely kill those evil men. Then he will lease the vineyard to some other farmers. They will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.”
42 Jesus said to them, “Surely you have read this in the Scriptures:
‘The stone that the builders did not want
became the cornerstone.
The Lord did this,
and it is wonderful to us.’ Psalm 118:22-23
43 “So I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you. It will be given to people who do the things God wants in his kingdom. 44 The person who falls on this stone will be broken. But if the stone falls on him, he will be crushed.”[f]
45 The leading priests and the Pharisees heard these stories that Jesus told. They knew he was talking about them. 46 They wanted to arrest him. But they were afraid of the people, because the people believed that Jesus was a prophet.
A Story About a Wedding Feast
22 Jesus used stories to tell other things to the people. He said, 2 “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding feast for his son. 3 The king invited some people to the feast. When the feast was ready, the king sent his servants to tell the people to come. But they refused to come to the feast.
4 “Then the king sent other servants. He said to them, ‘Tell those who have been invited that my feast is ready. I have killed my best bulls and calves for the dinner. Everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.’
5 “But the people refused to listen to the servants. They went to do other things. One went to work in his field, and another went to his business. 6 Some of the other people grabbed the servants, beat them, and killed them. 7 The king was very angry. He sent his army to kill the people who had killed his servants. And the army burned their city.
8 “After that, the king said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready. I invited those people, but they were not worthy to come. 9 So go to the street corners and invite everyone you see. Tell them to come to my feast.’ 10 So the servants went into the streets. They gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad. And the wedding hall was filled with guests.
11 “Then the king came in to see all the guests. He saw a man there who was not dressed in the right clothes for a wedding. 12 The king said, ‘Friend, how were you allowed to come in here? You are not wearing the right clothes for a wedding.’ But the man said nothing. 13 So the king told some servants, ‘Tie this man’s hands and feet. Throw him out into the darkness. In that place, people will cry and grind their teeth with pain.’
14 “Yes, many are invited. But only a few are chosen.”
The Pharisees Try to Trap Jesus
15 Then the Pharisees left the place where Jesus was teaching. They made plans to trap Jesus with a question. 16 They sent some of their own followers and some men from the group called Herodians.[g] These men said, “Teacher, we know that you are an honest man. We know that you teach the truth about God’s way. You are not afraid of what other people think about you. All men are the same to you. 17 So tell us what you think. Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”
18 But Jesus knew that these men were trying to trick him. So he said, “You hypocrites! Why are you trying to trap me? 19 Show me a coin used for paying the tax.” The men showed him a silver coin.[h] 20 Then Jesus asked, “Whose picture is on the coin? And whose name is written on the coin?”
21 The men answered, “Caesar’s.”
Then Jesus said to them, “Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s. And give to God the things that are God’s.”
22 The men heard what Jesus said, and they were amazed. They left him and went away.
Sadducees Try to Trick Jesus
23 That same day some Sadducees came to Jesus. (Sadducees believe that no person will rise from death.) The Sadducees asked Jesus a question. 24 They said, “Teacher, Moses told us that a married man might die without having children. Then his brother must marry the widow and have children for him. 25 There were seven brothers among us. The first one married but died. He had no children. So his brother married the widow. 26 Then the second brother also died. The same thing happened to the third brother and all the other brothers. 27 The woman was last to die. 28 But all seven men had married her. So when people rise from death, whose wife will she be?”
29 Jesus answered, “You don’t understand because you don’t know what the Scriptures say. And you don’t know about the power of God. 30 When people rise from death, there will be no marriage. People will not be married to each other. They will be like the angels in heaven. 31 Surely you have read what God said to you about the rising from death? 32 God said, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’[i] God is the God of living people, not dead people.”
33 All the people heard this. They were amazed at Jesus’ teaching.
The Most Important Command
34 The Pharisees learned that the Sadducees could not argue with Jesus’ answers to them. So the Pharisees met together. 35 One Pharisee was an expert in the law of Moses. That Pharisee asked Jesus a question to test him. 36 The Pharisee asked, “Teacher, which command in the law is the most important?”
37 Jesus answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind.’[j] 38 This is the first and most important command. 39 And the second command is like the first: ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’[k] 40 All the law and the writings of the prophets depend on these two commands.”
Jesus Questions the Pharisees
41 While the Pharisees were together, Jesus asked them a question. 42 He asked, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?”
The Pharisees answered, “The Christ is the Son of David.”
43 Then Jesus said to them, “Then why did David call him ‘Lord’? David was speaking by the power of the Holy Spirit. David said,
44 ‘The Lord said to my Lord:
Sit by me at my right side,
until I put your enemies under your control.’ Psalm 110:1
45 David calls the Christ ‘Lord.’ So how can he be David’s son?”
46 None of the Pharisees could answer Jesus’ question. And after that day no one was brave enough to ask Jesus any more questions.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.